KEEPING FIT: ﻿Tips to avoid injuries while gardening

By doing some preparatory muscular conditioning and implementing bio-mechanically correct activity techniques, you should have a safe raking, trimming, hoeing and sowing experiences this season.

By Wayne L. WestcottFor The Patriot Ledger

By doing some preparatory muscular conditioning and implementing bio-mechanically correct activity techniques, you should have a safe, effective and enjoyable raking, trimming, hoeing and sowing experiences this season.

Raking

Lawn raking is a vigorous physical activity that requires coordinated movements of the upper and lower body. Although the actual rake pulling action is accomplished by the arms, the hard-working shoulder muscles and stabilizing low back muscles are most likely to be injured if raking is performed improperly.

Make sure you have a good base of support with a staggered foot stance that adjusts easily to backward steps.

Wear running shoes for ease of movement and motion control when raking.

Maintain a relatively erect posture, neither bending forward at the waist nor leaning backward as such movements place greater stress on the lower back.

Keep arms reasonably close to your body. Reaching too far forward may place excessive stress on the low back muscles and pulling too far backward may place too much stress on the shoulder muscles.

Change sides and hand positions frequently. Changing hand positions every few seconds postpones fatigue, particularly in the more vulnerable shoulder muscles and reduces the risk of overuse syndrome.

Stop raking every 10 minutes to pick up the rakings. This provides a beneficial break in the repetitive raking actions and prevents the pile of raked materials from becoming too large and unwieldy.

Hedge and bush trimming

Whether you use manual or electric trimmers, this can be a problematic physical activity, especially for the neck, shoulder and low back muscles. Unless you have low shrubs, use a stepladder when working on bushes above waist level.

Take a break every 10 minutes. Even with your elbows bent and the upper arms close to your sides, holding a trimmer for extender periods of time can cause problems, especially for the gripping muscles of your forearms.

Hoeing

Hoeing spring soil can be a muscle-challenging activity that is even more vigorous than lawn-raking. Pulling a garden hoe through the ground is definitely harder than pulling a lawn rake over the ground. Like raking, the feet should provide a relatively wide and stable base from which to perform the arm pulling movements.

Avoid bending forward or leaning backward as both positions raise the potential for low back injuries. Short-range arm actions are more effective and less stressful on the shoulder joints than overreaching movements that pull the body out of proper position and create unfavorable leverage factors. Switch sides and arm positions every 10 pulls, and take a brief break every 5 to 10 minutes.

Seed Sowing

The apparent lack of activity as you place seeds 1 inch apart in the dirt can be deceiving. Some people bend over at the waist to plant, while others bend at the knees in a squat position. Both positions are potentially dangerous, as the first places undue stress on the low back and the second places excessive stress on the knees. Proper planting position is one foot flat on the ground and one knee on the ground (preferably on a pad). This position permits a relatively straight back and a 90-degree knee angle. Switch leg positions every few feet.